Barriers

The first area we examined were the barriers that disabled and/or neurodivergent IT professionals have found in working in the industry, followed by the changes they would like to see to mitigate them.

First, what problems have been felt?

1. Sensory overload and environmental factors

• Distractions from rolling news programs or other visual stimuli
• Noisy environments due to air-conditioning or other factors, affecting those with hearing impairments
• Challenges with traveling and the sensory overload of a company office

2. Technological barriers

• Variation in audio levels in online meetings causing difficulties for hearing-impaired individuals
• Websites not accommodating keyboard shortcuts, challenging those with dexterity issues
• Web content not being easily printable, affecting those who need physical copies due to cognitive challenges
• Poor accessibility on platforms like Teams and Zoom
• Stereo assumptions in video conferencing are problematic for those with hearing impairments in one ear
• Augmented reality (AR) tech not being inclusive of visually impaired individuals

3. Social interaction and communication

• Daily speech-based meetings are not beneficial to some neurodivergent individuals
• Challenges with socialisation, small talk, and networking events
• Difficulty processing questions quickly in interviews
• Difficulty in verbal communication, retaining verbal instructions, or participating in conversations

4. Misunderstandings and misconceptions

• Deliberate misunderstanding of neurodivergence or hidden disabilities, for example with accusations of avoiding tasks or not putting in enough effort
• Lack of understanding or support for doing tasks differently
• Stereotypes associated with disabilities, like equating poor English skills with intelligence
• Bullying, harassment, and serious bigotry against neurodivergent and disabled individuals

5. Work practices and recruitment

• Traditional interviews and assessment centres do not represent skills accurately
• Overload with contradictory work or missing information
• Difficulty in securing initial job positions
• Recruitment processes and practices that don't account for neurodiversity
• Inflexible work locations and practices
• Inadequate focus on career progression for neurodivergent individuals
• Lack of manager training to support neurodivergent staff
• Recruitment processes or job roles that aren't neurodivergent-inclusive

6. Accommodations and support

• Lack of flexibility or understanding for remote work
• Difficulty in expressing or communicating accommodation needs
• Difficulty in accessing resources in an understandable format
• Problems in finding suitable parking despite having accommodations like a Blue Badge

7. Emotional and mental strain

• Anxiety and stress from work and social expectations
• Feeling undervalued for effort, capabilities, and challenges faced
• Pressure to conform to certain work approaches (e.g., agile) which may not be conducive to success for some neurodivergent individuals

This overview indicates that barriers for neurodivergent and disabled individuals span from technological issues to social misunderstandings and inadequate workplace practices. Creating an inclusive environment requires a multifaceted approach, addressing both technological accommodations and societal perceptions.

Here are some of the specific comments, in commenters’ own words:

Societal issues

‘Anxiety from work - feeling like an alien trying to hide my neurodiversity.’

‘In the work environment, people can use language that is wishy washy or ambiguous - actions are therefore not clear and progress is slow which is frustrating.’

‘Not making eye contact seems to be seen as submissiveness, not just simply that I don't want to.’

‘I think disabled colleagues are - totally wrongly - thought of “The Weakest Link”.’

‘I am a neurodivergent woman and I have experienced sexism, bullying and exclusion. The worst part for me is not being taken seriously and not being listened to. I am much better at making my voice heard but to do so I feel I am more strident than I am comfortable with.’

One comment also implied a narrow approach to diversity in general, with one commenter saying that ‘anti-racism is seen as "enough" diversity.’

Practical issues

‘As a hearing-impaired person: vastly different levels of audio in online meetings, so I miss much of what some people say; not being able to keep up with the rate of speech; complete inaudibility in meeting rooms due to (a) noisy air-conditioning meaning I can't turn up hearing aid volume, and (b) lack of proper "spider phone" in rooms when attending remotely (even closed captions are gibberish in this situation).’

‘It is easier if I can print things out, rather than having to trawl back and forth on a website. This facility is not always available.’

This commenter adds an interesting addendum on our survey: ‘It is good that there is an option to upload an audio file (with this survey). What is not so good is that this box doesn't expand. I see two lines of text and using the minute scroll bar within the box is tricky. I am completing the survey on an Android phone.’

‘I am hard of hearing… I think it has been a barrier in moving up in my career as that would require more verbal communication (or miscommunication for me), so I have been hesitant to go for promotions.’

‘As my disability causes mobility and manual dexterity issues, I wasn't physically able to perform the entry jobs my friends had through college… eventually, I was able to get a job with the Scottish Government through Inclusion Scotland's internship programme, which helps disabled people to get experience of working in government, but without that opportunity to gain that experience I would still be unemployed. I have now been continually employed (and in my chosen field too) since that internship.’

‘Mobile phones at low bandwidth are very difficult to hear and conferencing platforms are impossible on a contended link. Most government and large corporation implementations of Teams especially are unusable to me. I have an immune system condition which frequently causes the skin on my fingers to degrade. Touch screen become unusable until the flare up of the condition abates.’

A blind professional mentions problems with ‘accessibility software not regularly updated, reliance on eye contact, use of 'post it' notes, and complex visual diagrams.’

Early career

‘Panel interviews can be overwhelming, and not really represent reality.’